Author
Topic: Book Thread Continued

Continued my Sanderson-palooza with The Way of Kings. Good stuff. It's perhaps stupid, but because he's Mormon (as am I), I always find myself looking for things in his books that I think are a nod to his religion. It's because I worry about him pulling an Orson Scott Card and going "You know, I don't have any ideas for a story right now. I'll just copy a big chunk of the Book of Mormon and change some details."* However, with Mr. Sanderson, so far, so good. I have seen subtle nods in his non-WoT books, some of which even I didn't pick up on until I went back and thought about them.

Two things from the Mistborn books (spoilered because they don't come up until at least the second book):

The whole thing about storing away supplies in preparation for an upcoming disaster - Mormons are encouraged to do this. At this point, I believe it's two weeks, but at one point, they said we should try to have two years' worth of stuff, because some day, the crap is really going to hit the fan and we'd need it. I don't think the specifics were doctrine-based - we're just encouraged to be prepared and self-sufficient wherever possible.

Engraving important things on metal sheets. I think most folks are aware (especially if they've seen the South Park episode) that this is a theme in Mormon scripture.*Card did this with his "Homecoming" series. Well, at least he did with the first book. I stopped reading after that, because I thought "Why keep reading? I already know this story."

I don't know if I could call him fantasy, people call his books weird fiction, which I think is more suited for him. If you want fantasy books that don't ride on Tolkien tropes I recommend GRRM A Song of Ice and Fire and Steven Erickson's Malazan Book of the Fallen.

I've only read Perdido Street Station by him, but I do recommend. It's not as deep as it can appear, but the imagination is fantastic.

Perdido Street station is good, but his post Bas Lag books, Unlundun, The City and The City, Kraken, Embassytown, and so far Railsea, are REALLY good. And Embassytown(which is hardcore sci fi) is incredibly deep.

I think this is why I'm interested in him. ASOIAF is okay, but I'm not floored by it. I've been looking for weirder stuff, the kind of books you're likely to find listed under Appendix N. Mieville is too recent for that, but he at least seams to be coming from a totally different direction than most post-Tolkien stuff.

Logged

Thoren: Astronomers fucking love stars and shit. Whitman was a bitch.Hidoshi: Walt Whitman could beat you with both dicks tied behind his back.

Less than halfway through The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, it does drag a bit (I feel like I know the Swedish government and political history in intimate detail) but picked up again with everyone taking sides.

Also the first four Game of Thrones books showed up before E3 so I'll get to those after.

Also also heard someone compare the Hunger Games' writing to Twilight. Now come on. NOTHING can be as badly written as Twilight. (Except maybe 50 Shades of Grey.) Right?

I've never read Twilight, but I've seen the Movies(Hey, no judging! They suck) and no way is Hunger Games written as bad as Twilight. Sure it's not the most eloquent writing out there, but it is serviceable enough to convey the story and characters. Speaking of which...Catching Fire - I'm really kind of surprised how much I'm liking these books. I certainly have issues, as they are far from perfect, but they are filled with great characters, and are written in a way that demands you just keep going. Katniss really is a great protagonist. She comes across, not as a superhero type, like some would portray her, but as a real person, with real issues, and emotions. It's easy to understand why she does the things she does, and why she reacts to certain situations in such a crazy way.I was happily proved wrong by some of the character arcs here. One in particular surprised me by not becoming a walking, talking, cliche. Good job Ms. Collins. Sadly, I'm still not big on Peeta. He's just too damn perfect. I kind of get where the author is going with him, but I also wish she would flesh him out a bit more.

I'm moving right into Mockingjay, as Catching Fire ended as if it was just another chapter. I think even books in a series should have some sort of closure. There is nothing but questions and anticipation at the end of CF. I AM intensely curious to see how all this is going to play out. I have a feeling that it's not all going to go the way you would expect. I just can't see a happy happy, joy joy ending on the way. We'll see.

Reading Mr. Paradise by Elmore Leonard. This is my second Leonard novel, and hot damn it's great. The man is totally unpredictable in his plots (except the nice, hardworking, lonely white guy usually gets the girl at the end) and his dialog is incredibly snappy. Gonna try the Elmore Leonard book that Justified is based on after this.

It's NOT as badly written as Twilight, and I can say that because I actually have read them both in their entirety. DONT LOOK AT ME.

It depends what you considerer the "writing" though, with YA fiction I would say you come for the story rather than the prose.

Okay, I've read Twilight in all its terrible glory (yes really, but it gives me free reign to make fun of it :P) but can't bring myself to read 50 Shades. Even for lulz. I've tried to read a page at the bookstore, twice even, but it's impossible.

Onto not-shitty books, I started GoT. Really neat stuff so far. People keep telling me he goes into too much detail, but I doubt those people have read Lord of the Rings...

50 Shades of Grey, that other series I'd mentioned. :P It's not by Stephanie Meyer, but it's.. wait for it.... Twilight fanfiction with all the names changed to original characters. With BDSM elements.